The Animal Rights Coalition operates Ethique Nouveau; a vegan boutique, where all purchases help fund our animal advocacy programs, at 317 W. 48th St. in Minneapolis. The ARC office is located at the same address.

Countdown to the Third Annual Vegan Hotdish Cookoff

Comments OffFebruary 23rd, 2015

Join us for a delicious time at the Third Annual Twin Cities Vegan Hotdish Cookoff this Sunday, March 1st from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Fuller Park Recreation Center, 48th St.and Grand Ave. S in Minneapolis. Original recipes from area cooks will be vying for two prize categories: Audience Favorite and Judge’s Choice, with additional prizes for the runners up. We are excited that our judge’s panel includes sister and brother duo Aubry and Kale Walch of The Herbivorous Butcher and Mary Johnson Strand, the 2014 Judge’s Choice winner. Come and support ARC’s animal advocacy work while tasting a variety of delicious hotdishes for only $1 per sample.

We’re hoping to make this event as waste-free as possible so bring a muffin tin or plate for samples, a fork, and a cup if you can. If not, they will be provided. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Call for Vegan Hotdish Cook-Off Contestants

January 26th, 2015

Join us for a delicious time at the Third Annual Twin Cities Vegan Hotdish Cook-off on Sunday, March 1 from 1:00-4:00 pm at the Fuller Park Recreation Center, 48th St. and Grand Ave. S in Minneapolis. Think tater tots, green beans, pasta, and other yummy things all mixed up in a single baking dish. Original recipes from area cooks will be vying for two prize categories: Audience Favorite and Judge’s Choice.

Our judge’s panel includes Aubry and Kale Walch of The Herbivorous Butcher, which is about to open the world’s first vegan butcher shop in Minneapolis, and Mary Johnson Strand, 2014’s Judge’s Choice Winner.

Come and support ARC while tasting a variety of delicious hot dishes for only $1 per sample. Free beverages will be provided and there will be lots of great door prizes. Your best Church Lady attire is welcome, but not required.

We have a few contestant spots left and a $20 deposit will reserve your spot (you’ll get your deposit back in full at the contest). Contestants will receive a $10 gift card from ARC’s vegan boutique, Ethique Nouveau. To register to compete, click here or email Chelsea at chelsea@animalrightscoalition.com. See you there!

Chipotle Vegan Fundraiser

January 14th, 2015

Let’s celebrate another yummy vegan option by enjoying Sofritas on Tuesday, January 20 at the Chipotle Calhoun Commons, 3040 Excelsior Boulevard #104 in Minneapolis. Bring in this flyer from 5:00 to 8:00pm on that day, show it on your smartphone, or tell the cashier you’re supporting the cause, and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to ARC.

If you’ve never had Chipotle’s new Sofritas, now is a great time to try it. Sofritas items–burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos–are made with organic, non-GMO tofu braised with chipotle chiles, roasted poblano peppers, and a blend of aromatic spices,

So help Animal Rights Coalition fulfill its mission just by getting a tasty vegan dinner at Chipotle. Come hungry!

A Flurry of Activity with 100% Chance of Helping Animals

December 20th, 2014

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who donated to our animal advocacy programs in 2014. We were thrilled by the number of donors who recognized that our work is showing real results. Without your loyal and generous support the Animal Rights Coalition could not exist. You make our victories for the animals possible.

If you meant to make a donation before the end of the year, but time got away from you, no worries. Make your donation to ARC now and feel good about starting the New Year off right!

We’ve had a very strong finish to the year with ExtraVEGANza events at two Whole Foods markets featuring vegan shopping tours, food samplings, and cooking demos; a second screening of the film COWSPIRACY that once again sold over 100 tickets, selling out the Lagoon Theater; and our annual Turkey-Free Thanksgiving potluck which brought in over 120 people, with many new faces in attendance. Our Cuddle Coats program reached a major milestone and recently sent its 600th fur donation to one of our 38 wildlife rehab partners, and fur donations to this program are showing no signs of slowing. We had well attended demonstrations at the Shrine Circus and at Ribnick Furs for Fur-Free Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, and a great Pay Per View event at North Hennepin Community College to a diverse and interested group of students. Finishing off a year of very successful educational outreach, Dallas Rising, ARC’s Executive Director, gave a well received talk about speciesism to 145 people as part of the Normandale College Colloquium Series.

So make a year-end donation to ARC now. We so appreciate not only your support, but also your vote of confidence in our work to save the lives of animals. With people like you on our side, we look forward to making even more of a difference for animals in the year ahead, never letting anyone forget that animals matter.

Stop by the Annual Holiday Open House

December 1st, 2014

The Animal Rights Coalition invites you to join us at our annual Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 7 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm. Enjoy delicious vegan appetizers from the Herbivorous Butcher and of course, lots of sweet treats too, meet other ARC members and friends, and browse for animal-friendly holiday gifts from Ethique Nouveau’s great selection of unique merchandise. This event is always a fun low-key way to connect with other members of the community. Location is the ARC Office at Ethique Nouveau, 317 W 48th St. in Minneapolis.

Thank You for Your Generosity on Give to the Max Day!

November 12th, 2014

Your support on Thursday, November 13, Give to the Max Day, meant ARC was able to raise $6,871 from 158 unique donors during that 24 hours. That placed us #25 on the Small Nonprofit Leaderboard for raising funds. And due to the generosity of an anonymous and enthusiastic donor who pledged to match all those donations to ARC, the total for the day will reach almost $14,000, an unprecedented amount raised. These funds will allow us to expand our efforts to help animals more than ever.

ARC wants to extend a heartfelt and public thank you to the volunteers who came in and spent time in the office working to raise funds for Give to the Max Day. It was a long day and we would not have had the success we did without: Joe Beane, Angie Chesney-Mattison, Megan Kathleen, Amy Leinen, Kelly Newport, Emily Jane Rinke, Sadie Schrader, and Barbara Stasz.

ARC has grown by leaps and bounds this year.
Our Cuddle Coats program has had to increase prep sessions to once a week to keep up with the donations of furs coming in to us, and the increasing demand for those furs at the 36 wildlife rehabs we now supply with furs to help rehabilitate and comfort orphaned and injured wildlife. That’s more than double the number of rehabs we were supplying last year.

Our Minnesotans Exposing Petland campaign has seen the close of one of the two Petland stores in the state and is turning up the heat on the remaining store, as well as educating the public about the cruelties of the pet trade.

Our increased presence on campuses in the form of Pay Per View, classroom speaking engagements, food sampling events, and offering service learning opportunities for students continues to hold strong and we saw a surge of interest from teachers at the Education Minnesota conference this year.

We’ve continued to think outside the box and branch out in our outreach efforts. Our debut at the American Diabetes Association Expo this year was a smashing success, and in January we’ll have a first ever booth at the Minneapolis Tattoo Arts Convention.

We held three large-screen documentary screenings of the films Speciesism and Cowspiracy at the Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis, all with sold out audiences.

And ARC volunteers alerted through our Activist Network even saved the lives of two stray chickens in Minneapolis, several months apart! Coyote and Kitty could have been eaten by birds of prey or frozen to death, but they’re safe and warm instead. We’re proud to partner with Chicken Run Rescue not only in these rescues, but also for tours and educational opportunities as well.

ARC in the Schools

October 15th, 2014

ARC Executive Director Dallas Rising speaking at Magnet School

Did you know that ARC speaks to many classes and student groups? We regularly talk to young adults and college students about subjects such as speciesism, animals and food ethics, our treatment of animals and relationship to animals, sustainability and environmental issues related to food, and food justice at places like Fridley Middle School, Southwest High School, Augsburg College, Hamline University, Mankato State University, Metropolitan Community & Technical College (MCTC), and Normandale College.

If you would like someone from ARC to speak at your school, civic organization, Girl Scout troop, or church group, email Dallas Rising at dallas@animalrightscoalition.com and we’ll set something up. You can also download and print a copy of our new brochure Ethical Values and Our Relationship with Animals to give to educators and group leaders about our presentations.

Food Justice and Veganism

September 15th, 2014

North Vegans is a new ARC program based in North Minneapolis which is focused on food justice, ending food deserts, and making veganism accessible to all.

North Vegans is led by Northsiders who want to provide a positive way for the community to meet and greet fellow locals interested in plant-based eating, work on improving affordable access to healthy plant-based meals, and make our local vegan community more inclusive.

We launched North Vegans on Saturday, September 20 at the Open Streets/Harvest Festival on Lowry Avenue where we gave out info on plant-based eating, recipe booklets designed for going vegan on a budget, and goodies for the whole family including stickers and comic books.

North Vegans will be tabling next at the West Broadway Farmer’s Market on Friday, October 3 and October 10 from 3:00-7:00 pm. Stop by and say hello!